The Republic of Arrad is a tiny, socially progressive nation, notable for its irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed population of 8 million Arradians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 11.2%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Arradian economy, worth 371 billion Arradian Dollars a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Gambling, and Retail. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 46,408 Arradian Dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

Organ donation is compulsory and some are born loving old plays and some have old plays thrust upon them. Crime is relatively low. Arrad's national animal is the Zebra, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Arrad is ranked 253,126^th in the world and 935^th in Concord for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 23.24 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.